Mobile terminal and method for correcting text thereof

ABSTRACT

A method for selecting text created in a mobile terminal by word and correcting it or changing it to another word, and a mobile terminal implementing the same are disclosed. The mobile terminal includes: a display unit to display one or more words of text, and to display tags for each of the one or more words; an input unit to select at least one of the tagged one or more words as selected one word; and a controller to display candidate words having a similar pronunciation to that of the word selected via the input unit, select one of the candidate words as selected one candidate word, and change the selected one word from the text to the selected one candidate word.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Korean Application No.10-2008-0049897 filed in Korea on May 28, 2008, the entire contents ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for selecting to correct textcreated in a mobile terminal by word or changing it to a different word,and a mobile terminal having the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

A mobile terminal is a device which may be configured to perform variousfunctions. Examples of such functions include data and voicecommunications, capturing images and video via a camera, recordingaudio, playing music files via a speaker system, and displaying imagesand video on a display. Some terminals include additional functionalitywhich supports game playing, while other terminals are configured asmultimedia players. More recently, mobile terminals have been configuredto receive broadcast and multicast signals which permit viewing ofcontent such as videos and television programs.

Efforts are ongoing to support and increase the functionality of mobileterminals. Such efforts include software and hardware improvements, aswell as changes and improvements in the structural components which formthe mobile terminal. In terms of design, folder type, slide type, bartype, or rotation type design may be applied for mobile terminals.

In addition, efforts for applying a voice recognition function to mobileterminals are being made. For example, an STT (Speech To Text) functionthat converts voice into text allows a user to simply input text to thuseasily create a text message in a mobile terminal. However, an alwaysperfect voice recognition cannot be expected and erroneously recognizedtext may be outputted. Thus, in order to correct the erroneouslyrecognized text, the user should move a cursor to the erroneouslyrecognized text and correct the text one letter by one letter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to address theabove-noted and other problems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forselecting text created in a mobile terminal by word and correcting it orchanging it to another word, and a mobile terminal implementing thesame.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method fortagging and displaying text created in a mobile terminal so that thetagged text can be selected by word, and a mobile terminal implementingthe same.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method forselecting text created in a mobile terminal by word by using voice or byusing a plurality of input units, and a mobile terminal implementing thesame.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method fordisplaying candidate words having a similar pronunciation to that of aparticular word selected from text created in a mobile terminal andchanging the selected word to one of the candidate words.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, thepresent invention provides in one aspect a mobile terminal including: adisplay unit configured to display one or more words of text and todisplay tags for each of the one or more words; an input unit configuredto select at least one of the tagged one or more words as a selected oneword; and a controller configured to control display of candidate wordshaving a similar pronunciation to that of the selected one word that isselected via the input unit, select one of the candidate words, andchange the selected word to the selected one candidate word.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, thepresent invention provides in another aspect a method for correctingtext of a mobile terminal including: converting a voice message receivedfrom a user into text; tagging the converted text by each of one or morewords of the text; selecting at least one of the one or more words fromthe text as a selected on word; displaying candidate words having asimilar pronunciation to that of the selected one word; and when one ofthe candidate words is selected as a selected candidate word, changingthe selected one word from the text into the selected candidate word.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, thepresent invention provides in another aspect a mobile terminal includinga display unit configured to display a plurality of words of text,wherein each of the plurality of the words is individually tagged foridentification; an input unit configured to receive input from a user;and a controller to replace a selected one of the plurality of words ofthe text based on the input from the user via the input unit, by usingone of candidate words having a similar pronunciation to that of theselected one word.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention has an effectthat it can simply select text converted after recognizing a voice byword, and can correct it or change it to a different word.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention has an effectthat it can tag text converted after recognizing a voice and display itby word, so that words can be simply selected.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention has an effectthat a particular word can be selected from text converted afterrecognizing a voice, by using a voice or by using a plurality of inputunits.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention has an effectthat candidate words having a similar pronunciation to that of aparticular word selected from text converted after recognizing a voiceare displayed, and the selected word is changed to one of the candidatewords.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by illustration only, since various changes and modificationswithin the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings,which are given by illustration only, and thus, are not limitative ofthe present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile terminal implementing anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal implementing anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of a mobile terminal implementing anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system with whichthe mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present inventionis operable;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the process of a method forcontrolling a menu of the mobile terminal by using a voice according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is an overview of display screens illustrating a method foractivating a voice recognition function of the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6B and 6C are overviews of display screens illustrating a methodfor outputting help information of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7A is a flow chart illustrating the process of a method forrecognizing a voice instruction of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7B is a view illustrating a voice recognition method of the mobileterminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a method for displaying a menu accordingto a voice recognition rate of the mobile terminal according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is an overview of display screens illustrating a voiceinstruction recognition method of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a database system used in avoice recognition method of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating the process of a text correctingmethod of the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 12A to 12C are overviews of display screens illustrating a methodfor tagging voice-recognized text in the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting an arbitrary word to correct text displayed on the screen ofthe mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is an overview of display screens illustrating a method fordisplaying candidate words for a particular word selected by a user intext displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are overviews of display screens illustrating a methodfor changing a word of text by selecting one of candidate wordsdisplayed on the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating the process of a method forcorrecting text by using voice instruction in the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting an arbitrary word by using a voice instruction from textdisplayed on the screen of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18A is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting by voice one of candidate words displayed on the screen of themobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 18B is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting by voice an arbitrary word from text displayed on the mobileterminal and correcting it according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to some exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, if adetailed explanation for a related known function or construction isconsidered to unnecessarily divert the gist of the present invention,such explanation has been omitted but would be understood by thoseskilled in the art. In describing the present invention with referenceto the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals may be usedfor elements performing the same or similar functions. The mobileterminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. The mobile terminal may beimplemented in various configurations or forms. Examples of such mobileterminal includes mobile phones, user equipment, smart phones,computers, digital broadcast terminals, personal digital assistants,portable multimedia players (PMP), navigation devices, and the like.

The mobile terminal 100 as shown in FIG. 1 may include a wirelesscommunication unit 110, an A/V (Audio/Video) input unit 120, a userinput unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, aninterface unit 170, a controller 180, and a power supply unit 190, etc.FIG. 1 shows the mobile terminal 100 having various components, but itis understood that implementing all of the illustrated components is nota requirement. Greater or fewer components thereof may alternatively beimplemented.

The elements of the mobile terminal will be described in detail asfollows. A wireless communication unit 110 typically includes one ormore components allowing radio communication between the mobile terminal100 and a wireless communication system or a network in which the mobileterminal 100 is located. A broadcast receiving module 111 receivesbroadcast signals and/or broadcast associated information from anexternal broadcast management server (or other network entity) via abroadcast channel. The broadcast channel may include a satellite channeland a terrestrial channel. The broadcast managing server may refer to asystem that generates and transmits a broadcast signal and/or broadcastassociated information, or a server that receives a previously generatedbroadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information, and transmitsthe same to a terminal. Examples of the broadcast associated informationmay include information regarding a broadcast channel, a broadcastprogram, a broadcast service provider, etc. The broadcast signal mayinclude a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a databroadcast signal, and the like. Also, the broadcast signal may furtherinclude a broadcast signal combined with a TV or radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast associated information may be provided also via a mobilecommunication network (e.g., that operate according to standards such as3GPP, 3GPP2, IEEE, CDMA, GSM, OMA, so-called 4G techniques, etc.) and,in this case, the broadcast associated information may be received by amobile communication module 112. The broadcast signal may exist invarious forms. For example, it may exist in the form of an electronicprogram guide (EPG) of digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), electronicservice guide (ESG) of digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H), and thelike.

The broadcast receiving module 111 may be configured to receivebroadcast signals by using various types of broadcast systems. Inparticular, the broadcast receiving module 111 may receive a digitalbroadcast signal by using a digital broadcast system such as multimediabroadcasting-terrestrial (DMB-T), digital multimediabroadcasting-satellite (DMB-S), digital video broadcast-handheld(DVB-H), the data broadcasting system known as media forward link only(MediaFLO®), integrated services digital broadcast-terrestrial (ISDB-T),etc. The broadcast receiving module 111 is configured to be suitable foran every broadcast system that provides a broadcast signal as well asthe above-mentioned digital broadcast systems. Broadcast signals and/orbroadcast-associated information received via the broadcast receivingmodule 111 may be stored in the memory 160 (or other type of storagemedium).

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and/or receives radiosignals to and/or from at least one of a base station (e.g., accesspoints, Node Bs, etc.), an external terminal (e.g., other user devices)and a server (or other network entities). Such radio signals may includea voice call signal, a video call signal or various types of dataaccording to text and/or multimedia message transmission and/orreception.

The wireless Internet module 113 supports Internet access for the mobileterminal. This module may be internally or externally coupled to themobile terminal 100. The short-range communication module 114 refers toa module for supporting short range communications. Some examples ofshort-range communication technology includes Bluetooth™, RadioFrequency IDentification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA),Ultra-WideBand (UWB), ZigBee™, and the like.

The location information module 115 is a module for checking oracquiring a location (or position) of the mobile terminal. For example,the location information module 115 may be embodied by using a GPS(Global Positioning System) module that receives location informationfrom a plurality of satellites. Here, the location information mayinclude coordinate information represented by latitude and longitudevalues. For example, the GPS module may measure an accurate time anddistance from three or more satellites, and accurately calculate acurrent location of the mobile terminal 100 according to trigonometry(or triangulation) based on three different distances. A method ofacquiring distance and time information from three satellites andperforming error correction with a single satellite may be used. Inparticular, the GPS module may acquire an accurate time together withthree-dimensional speed information as well as the location of thelatitude, longitude and altitude values from the location informationreceived from the satellites.

The A/V input unit 120 is configured to receive an audio or videosignal. The A/V input unit 120 may include a camera 121 (or other imagecapture device) and a microphone 122 (or other sound pick-up device).The camera 121 processes image data of still pictures or videos obtainedby an image capture device in a video capturing mode or an imagecapturing mode. The processed image frames may be displayed on a displayunit 151 (or other visual output device). The image frames processed bythe camera 121 may be stored in the memory 160 (or other storage medium)or transmitted via the wireless communication unit 110. Two or morecameras 121 may be provided according to the configuration of the mobileterminal.

The microphone 122 may receive sounds (audible data) via a microphone(or the like) in a phone call mode, a recording mode, a voicerecognition mode, and the like, and can process such sounds into audiodata. The processed audio (voice) data may be converted for output intoa format transmittable to a mobile communication base station (or othernetwork entity) via the mobile communication module 112 in case of thephone call mode. The microphone 122 may include various types of noisecanceling (or suppression) algorithms to cancel (or suppress) noise orinterference generated in the course of receiving and transmitting audiosignals.

The user input unit 130 (or other user input device) may generate keyinput data from commands entered by a user to control various operationsof the mobile terminal. The user input unit 130 allows the user to entervarious types of information, and may include a keypad, a dome switch, atouch pad (e.g., a touch sensitive member that detects changes inresistance, pressure, capacitance, etc.), a jog wheel, a jog switch, andthe like. In particular, when the touch pad is overlaid on the displayunit 151 in a layered manner, it may be called a touch screen.

The sensing unit 140 (or other detection means) detects a current status(or state) of the mobile terminal 100 such as an opened or closed stateof the mobile terminal 100, a location of the mobile terminal 100, apresence or absence of user contact (i.e. touch inputs) with the mobileterminal 100, orientation of the mobile terminal 100, an acceleration ordeceleration movement and direction of the mobile terminal 100, etc.,and generates commands or signals for controlling the operation of themobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is aslide type mobile phone, the sensing unit 140 may sense whether theslide phone is opened or closed. In addition, the sensing unit 140 candetect whether or not the power supply unit 190 supplies power orwhether or not the interface unit 170 is coupled with an externaldevice.

The interface unit 170 (or other connection means) serves as aninterface with at least one external device connected with the mobileterminal 100. For example, the external devices may include wired orwireless headset ports, external power supply (or battery charger)ports, wired or wireless data ports, memory card ports, ports forconnecting a device having an identification module, audio input/output(I/O) ports, video I/O ports, earphone ports, or the like.

Here, the identification module may be a chip (or other element withmemory or storage capabilities) that stores various information forauthenticating the authority of using the mobile terminal 100 and mayinclude a user identity module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM)a universal subscriber identity module (USIM), and the like. Inaddition, the device having the identification module (referred to as‘identifying device’, hereinafter) may take the form of a smart card.Accordingly, the identifying device may be connected with the terminal100 via a port or other connection means.

The interface unit 170 may be used to receive inputs (e.g., data,information, power, etc.) from an external device and transfer thereceived inputs to one or more elements within the mobile terminal 100or may be used to transfer data between the mobile terminal and anexternal device. The output unit 150 is configured to provide outputs ina visual, audible, and/or tactile manner (e.g., audio signal, videosignal, alarm signal, vibration signal, etc.). The output unit 150 mayinclude the display unit 151, an audio output module (or sound outputmodule) 152, an alarm unit 153, and the like.

The display unit 151 may output information processed in the mobileterminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in a phonecall mode, the display unit 151 may display a User Interface (UI) or aGraphic User Interface (GUI) associated with a call or othercommunication (such as text messaging, multimedia file downloading,etc.). When the mobile terminal 100 is in a video call mode or imagecapturing mode, the display unit 151 may display a captured image and/orreceived image, a UI or GUI that shows videos or images and functionsrelated thereto, and the like.

Meanwhile, when the display unit 151 and the touch pad are overlaid in alayered manner to form a touch screen, the display unit 151 may functionas both an input device and an output device. The display unit 151 mayinclude at least one of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Thin FilmTransistor-LCD (TFT-LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED), aflexible display, a three-dimensional (3D) display, or the like. Themobile terminal 100 may include two or more display units (or otherdisplay means) according to its embodiment. For example, the mobileterminal may include an external display unit (that can be viewed evenif the mobile phone is closed) and an internal display unit (that can beviewed if the mobile phone is opened).

The audio output module 152 may output audio data received from thewireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a callsignal reception mode, a call mode, a record mode, a voice recognitionmode, a broadcast reception mode, and the like. Also, the audio outputmodule 152 may provide audible outputs related to a particular function(e.g., a call signal reception sound, a message reception sound, etc.)performed by the mobile terminal 100. The audio output module 152 mayinclude a speaker, a buzzer, or other sound generating device.

The alarm unit 153 (or other type of user notification means) mayprovide outputs to inform about an occurrence of an event of the mobileterminal 100. Typical events may include call reception, messagereception, key or button inputs, etc. In addition to audio or videooutputs, the alarm unit 153 may provide outputs in a different manner toinform about an occurrence of an event. For example, the alarm unit 153may provide outputs in the form of vibrations (or other tactileoutputs). When a call, a message, or some other incoming communicationis received, the alarm unit 153 may provide tactile outputs (i.e.,vibrations) to inform the user. By providing tactile outputs, the usercan recognize the occurrence of various events even if his mobile phoneis in his pocket. Outputs informing about the occurrence of an event maybe also provided via the display unit 151 or the audio output module152.

The memory 160 (or other storage means) may store software programs orthe like used for the processing and controlling operations performed bythe controller 180, or may temporarily store data (e.g., a phonebook,messages, still images, video, etc.) that have been input or to beoutputted. The memory 160 may include at least one type of storagemedium including a Flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card, acard-type memory (e.g., SD or DX memory, etc), a Random Access Memory(RAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM),an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), aProgrammable Read-Only memory (PROM) magnetic memory, a magnetic disk,an optical disk, and the like. Also, the mobile terminal 100 maycooperate with a network storage device that performs the storagefunction of the memory 160 over a network connection.

The controller 180 (such as a microprocessor or the like) typicallycontrols the general operations of the mobile terminal 100. For example,the controller 180 performs controlling and processing associated withvoice calls, data communications, video calls, and the like. Inaddition, the controller 180 may include a multimedia module 181 forreproducing (or playing back) multimedia data. The multimedia module 181may be configured within the controller 180 or may be configured to beseparated from the controller 180. The power supply unit 190 receivesexternal power (via a power cable connection) or internal power (via thebattery of the mobile phone) and supplies appropriate power required foroperating respective elements and components under the control of thecontroller 180.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in acomputer-readable medium using, for example, computer software,hardware, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementation, theembodiments described herein may be implemented by using at least one ofapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors,electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein. Insome cases, such embodiments may be implemented in the controller 180.For software implementation, the embodiments such as procedures orfunctions may be implemented together with separate software modulesthat allow performing of at least one function or operation. Softwarecodes can be implemented by a software application (or program) writtenin any suitable programming language. The software codes may be storedin the memory 160 and executed by the controller 180.

So far, the mobile terminal has been described from the perspective ofits functions. Hereinafter, external elements of the mobile terminalwill be described from the perspective of their functions with referenceto FIGS. 2 and 3. Mobile terminal may be implemented in a variety ofdifferent configurations. Examples of such configurations includefolder-type, bar-type, swing-type, a slide type, as well as variousother configurations. The following description will primarily relate toa slide-type mobile terminal. However, such description can equallyapply to other types of mobile terminals.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the mobile terminal according toan embodiment of the present invention. Such mobile terminal may includea first body 200 and a second body 205 that can be slidably moved alongat least one direction with respect to the first body 200. A state inwhich the first body is disposed to overlap with the second body 205 maybe called a closed configuration, and as shown in FIG. 2, a state inwhich at least a portion of the second body 205 is exposed may be calledan open configuration. In the closed configuration, the mobile terminalmainly operates in a standby (or idle) mode, and the standby mode may bereleased upon user manipulation. The mobile terminal operates mainly inthe calling mode or the like in the open configuration, and it can bechanged to the standby mode with the lapse of time or upon usermanipulation.

The case (or casing, housing, cover, etc.) constituting the externalappearance of the first body 200 may include a first front case 220 anda first rear case 225. Various electronic components are installed inthe space between the first front case 220 and the first rear case 225.One or more intermediate cases may be additionally disposed between thefirst front case 220 and the first rear case 225. The cases may beformed by injection-molding a synthetic resin or may be made of ametallic material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti), etc.

The display unit 151, the audio output module 152, the camera 121 or thefirst user input unit 210 may be located at the first body, 200,specifically, on the first front case 220 of the first body 200. Thedisplay unit 151 may include an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode), and the like, that visually displaysinformation. A touch pad may be overlaid in a layered manner on thedisplay unit 151 to allow the display unit 151 to function as a touchscreen to input information via user gestures or touch inputs. Usertouch inputs may also be achieved by so-called proximity detectiontechniques, whereby the user's finger or stylus may be detected whenplaced near the screen without actually touching the screen itself.

The audio output unit 152 may be implemented in the form of a speaker orother sound producing device. The camera 121 may be implemented to besuitable for capturing images or video with respect to the user andother objects.

Like the first body 200, the case constituting the external appearanceof the second body 205 may include a second front case 230 and a secondrear case 235. A second user input unit 215 may be disposed at a frontportion of the second body 205, specifically, on the second front case230. A third user input unit 245, the microphone 122, the interface unit170 may be disposed on at least one of the second front case 230 and thesecond rear case 235.

The first to third user input units 210, 215 and 245 may be generallyreferred to as a manipulating unit 130, and various methods andtechniques can be employed for the manipulation unit 130 so long as theycan be operated by the user in a tactile manner. For example, the userinput units 130 can be implemented as dome switches, actuators, or touchpad regions that can receive user commands or information according tothe user's touch operations (e.g., pressing, pushing, swiping,drag-and-drop, etc.) or may be implemented in the form of a rotatablecontrol wheel (or disc), keys or buttons, a jog dial, a joystick, or thelike. In terms of their functions, the first user input unit 210 is usedfor inputting (entering) commands such as start, end, scroll or thelike, and the second user input unit 215 is used for inputting(entering) numbers, characters, symbols, or the like. Also, the thirduser input unit 245 may support the so-called hot key functions thatallow more convenient activation of particular functions for the mobileterminal. The microphone 122 (or other sound pick-up device) may beappropriately implemented to detect user voice inputs, other sounds, andthe like.

The interface unit 170 may be used as a communication link (or passage,path, etc.) through which the terminal can exchange data or the likewith an external device. For example, the interface unit 170 may beimplemented in the form of a connection port for connecting an earphoneto the mobile terminal via a fixed or wireless means, a port forshort-range communications (e.g., an Infrared Data Association (IrDA)port, a Bluetooth™ port, a wireless LAN port, etc.), power supply portsfor providing power to the mobile terminal, or the like. Also, theinterface unit 170 may be a card socket for accommodating a SIM(Subscriber Identification Module) card or a UIM (User Identity Module)card, or an external card such as a memory card for storing information.The power supply unit 190 for supplying power to the terminal may belocated at the second rear case 235. The power supply unit 190 may be,for example, a rechargeable battery that can be detached.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal of FIG. 2according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, a camera 121(or other image pick-up device) may additionally be disposed on a rearsurface of the second rear case 235 of the second body 205. The camera121 of the second body 205 may have an image capture direction which issubstantially opposite to that of the camera 121 of the first body 200(namely, the two cameras may be implemented to face towards opposingdirections, such as front and rear), and may support a different numberof pixels (i.e., have a different resolution) than the camera 121 of thefirst body.

For example, the camera 121 of the first body 200 may operate with arelatively lower resolution to capture an image(s) of the user's faceand immediately transmit such image(s) to another party in real-timeduring video call communication or the like in which reverse linkbandwidth capabilities may be limited. Also, the camera 121 of thesecond body 205 may operate with a relatively higher resolution tocapture images of general objects with high picture quality, which maynot require immediately transmission in real-time, but may be stored forlater viewing or use. Additional camera related components, such as aflash 250 and a mirror 255, may be additionally disposed adjacent to thecamera 121 of the second body 205. When an image of the subject iscaptured with the camera 121 of the second body 205, the flash 250illuminates the subject. The mirror 255 allows the user to see himselfwhen he wants to capture his own image (i.e., self-image capturing) byusing the camera 121 of the second body 205.

The second rear case 235 may further include an audio output module 152.The audio output module 152 may support stereophonic sound functions inconjunction with the audio output module 152 of the first body 200 andmay be also used for sending and receiving calls in a speaker phonemode. A broadcast signal receiving antenna 260 may be disposed(externally or internally) at one side or region of the second rear case235, in addition to an antenna that is used for mobile communications.The antenna 260 can also be configured to be retractable from the secondbody 205.

One part of a slide module 265 that allows the first body 200 and thesecond body 205 to slide relative to each other may be disposed on thefirst rear case 225 of the first body 200. The other part of the slidemodule 265 may be disposed on the second front case 230 of the secondbody 205, which may not be exposed as shown in FIG. 3.

The second camera 121 and other components may be disposed on the secondbody 205, but such configuration is not meant to be limited. Forexample, one or more of the elements (e.g., 260, 121 and 250 and 152etc.), which are disposed on the second rear case 235 may be mounted onthe first body 200, mainly, on the first rear case 225. In this case,those elements disposed on the first rear case 225 can be protected (orcovered) by the second body 205 in the closed configuration of themobile terminal 100. In addition, even if a separate camera is notprovided at the second body, the camera module 121 may be configured torotate (or otherwise be moved) to thus allow image capturing in variousdirections.

The mobile terminal 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 may be configured tooperate with a communication system, which transmits data via frames orpackets, such as wired and wireless communication systems, as well assatellite-based communication systems. Such communication systems inwhich the mobile terminal according to the present invention can operatewill now be described with reference to FIG. 4.

Such communication systems may use different air interfaces and/orphysical layers. For example, air interfaces utilized by thecommunication systems include example, frequency division multipleaccess (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), and universal mobile telecommunications system(UMTS) (in particular, long term evolution (LTE)), global system formobile communications (GSM), and the like. As a non-limiting example,the description hereafter relates to a CDMA communication system, butsuch teachings apply equally to other types of systems.

Referring to FIG. 4, a CDMA wireless communication system may include aplurality of mobile terminals 100, a plurality of base stations (BSs)270, base station controllers (BSCs) 275, and a mobile switching center(MSC) 280. The MSC 280 is configured to interface with a public switchtelephone network (PSTN) 290. The MSC 280 is also configured tointerface with the BSCs 275, which may be coupled to the base stations270 via backhaul lines. The backhaul lines may be configured inaccordance with any of several known interfaces including, for example,E1/T1, ATM, IP, PPP, Frame Relay, HDSL, ADSL, or xDSL. It is to beunderstood that the system as shown in FIG. 4 may include a plurality ofBSCs 275.

Each BS 270 may serve one or more sectors (or regions), each sectorcovered by an omni-directional antenna or an antenna pointed in aparticular direction radially away from the BS 270. Alternatively, eachsector may be covered by two or more antennas for diversity reception.Each BS 270 may be configured to support a plurality of frequencyassignments, and each frequency assignment has a particular spectrum(e.g., 1.25 MHz, 5 MHz, etc). The intersection of a sector and frequencyassignment may be referred to as a CDMA channel. The BS 270 may also bereferred to as base station transceiver subsystems (BTSs) or otherequivalent terms. In such case, the term “base station” may be used tocollectively refer to a single BSC 275 and at least one BS 270. The basestation may also be referred to as a “cell site”. Alternatively,individual sectors of a particular BS 270 may be referred to as aplurality of cell sites.

As shown in FIG. 4, a broadcasting transmitter (BT) 295 transmits abroadcast signal to the mobile terminals 100 operating within thesystem. The broadcast receiving module 111 as shown in FIG. 1 isprovided at the terminal 100 to receive broadcast signals transmitted bythe BT 295. In FIG. 4, several global positioning systems (GPS)satellites 300 are shown. The satellites 300 help locate at least one ofa plurality of terminals 100. In FIG. 4, two satellites 300 aredepicted, but it is understood that useful positioning information maybe obtained with any number of satellites. The GPS module 115 as shownin FIG. 1 is typically configured to cooperate with the satellites 300to obtain desired positioning information. Instead of or in addition toGPS tracking techniques, other technologies that may track the locationof the mobile terminals may be used. In addition, at least one of theGPS satellites 300 may selectively or additionally handle satellite DMBtransmissions.

As one typical operation of the wireless communication system, the BSs270 receive reverse-link signals from various mobile terminals 100. Themobile terminals 100 typically engaging in calls, messaging, and othertypes of communications. Each reverse-link signal received by aparticular base station 270 is processed within the particular BS 270.The resulting data is forwarded to an associated BSC 275. The BSCprovides call resource allocation and mobility management functionalityincluding the coordination of soft handoff procedures between BSs 270.The BSCs 275 also route the received data to the MSC 280, which providesadditional routing services for interfacing with the PSTN 290.Similarly, the PSTN 290 interfaces with the MSC 280, the MSC interfaceswith the BSCs 275, and the BSCs 275 in turn control the BSs 270 totransmit forward-link signals to the mobile terminals 100.

The mobile terminal according to the embodiment of the present inventionincludes an algorithm for a voice recognition and an algorithm for anSTT (Speech To Text) stored in the memory 160, and a voice inputted by auser can be converted into text by associating an arbitrary functionprovided in the mobile terminal, the voice recognition function and theSTT function. The converted text may be outputted to an execution screenof the function. Here, the particular function may include a function ofcreating text for a text message or a mail. When the text message ormail creating function is executed, the controller 180 may activate thevoice recognition function and automatically operate the STT function.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the process of a method forcontrolling a menu of the mobile terminal by using a voice according toan embodiment of the present invention. The controller 180 of the mobileterminal may start activation of the voice recognition function uponreceiving an activation control signal (S101). The activation controlsignal may be used to terminate the activated voice recognitionfunction.

The activation control signal may be generated by manipulating aparticular hardware button provided in the terminal, a software buttondisplayed on the display unit 151, by applying a touch, or bymanipulating a particular menu displayed on the display unit 151. Or,the activation control signal may be generated by a particular sound, ashort distance radio signal or a remote radio signal, or even by humanbody movement information including a motion of the hand or gesture ofthe user. The particular sound may include a sort of an impact sound ofa particular level or higher such as a clapping sound. The sound of theparticular level or higher can be detected by using a simple sound leveldetection algorithm (not shown).

The sound level detection algorithm may be relatively simple comparedwith a voice recognition algorithm, consuming a smaller amount ofresources of the mobile terminal. The sound level detection algorithm(or circuit) may be configured separately from the voice recognitionalgorithm (or circuit), or may be implemented to restrict a partialfunction of the voice recognition algorithm.

The radio signal may be received via the wireless communication unit110, and the user's motion of hand or gesture may be received via thesensing unit 140. The wireless communication unit 110 for receiving theactivation control signal, the user input unit 130, and the sensing unit140 may be collectively called a signal input unit.

When the voice recognition function is activated, the controlleranalyzes context or content of voice data or a voice instructionreceived via the microphone 122 with reference to a particular database,to determine the meaning of the voice instruction (S103, S104). Here, asthe voice recognition function is activated, an information domain ofthe database referred to recognize the meaning of the voice instructionmay be specified to information related to a particular function or menu(S102). For example, the specified information domain may be specifiedto information related to menus currently outputted on the display unit151 or information related to sub-menus of a particular menu selectedfrom the menus. Because the information domain of the database to bereferred to recognize the voice instruction is specified, a recognitionrate of the voice instruction can be further increased.

The information related to the sub-menus may be configured as adatabase. The information may have a key word form, and a plurality ofinformation may correspond to one function or one menu. A plurality ofdatabases may be configured according to the characteristics ofinformation and may be stored in the memory 160. The informationconfigured in each database may be updated through learning. Inaddition, in order to improve the recognition rate of the voiceinstruction, the information of each database may be specified toinformation related to a currently outputted function or menus. Theinformation domain may be changed as the depth of menus is increased.

The operation for determining the meaning of the voice instruction maybe started immediately when the activated voice recognition function isterminated after the inputted voice instruction is temporarily stored,or may be performed simultaneously when a voice instruction is inputtedin a state that the voice recognition function is activated.

Meanwhile, although the voice recognition function is in an activestate, the controller may continuously drive an algorithm for detectinga touch or a button input. Thus, even in the state that the voicerecognition function is activated, the controller 180 can select orexecute a particular menu via any other input unit such as a touch or abutton than the voice instruction (S109, S110). When the meaning of thevoice instruction is determined, the controller 180 may output thecorresponding result (S105). The result may include a control signal forexecuting a menu related to a function or a service corresponding to themeaning of the voice instruction or controlling a particular element ofthe terminal, or data displaying information related to the recognizedvoice instruction.

When the result is outputted or executed, the controller 180 may receivea user's configuration as to whether or not the result is correct(S106). For example, if the voice instruction has a low recognition rateor recognized to have a plurality of meanings, the controller 180outputs a plurality of menus related to each meaning, and execute themaccording to a user selection. Or, the controller may simply inquirewhether to execute a particular menu with a high recognition rate, andexecute or display a corresponding function or menu according to a userselection or response.

Whether to execute the particular menu may be confirmed to the user byoutputting a message or a voice (e.g., want to execute a text messagecreation function? Please say Yes or No. With no response, text messagecreation function will be executed automatically in five seconds).Accordingly, the user may respond (e.g., 1: Yes, 2: No) by using a voiceor other input units, and the other input unit may include a hardwarebutton or a software button, or in a touch. If there is no response fromthe user, the controller 180 may determine it as a positive response andautomatically execute the function or menu (S107). If the user'sresponse is negative, namely, if the meaning of the voice instruction isnot accurately determined, an error processing process may be performed(S108).

In the error processing process, the voice instruction is received againor a plurality of menus (or a plurality of menus interpreted to have asimilar meaning) of a particular recognition rate or higher aredisplayed, and then, one of them may be selected by the user. If thenumber of functions or menus having the particular recognition rate orhigher is smaller than a particular number (e.g., two), the function orthe menu may be automatically executed.

FIG. 6A is an overview of display screens illustrating a method foractivating a voice recognition function of the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. When the voice recognitionfunction is maintained in the activated state, the voice recognitionalgorithm is continuously driven, increasing the resource and powerconsumption. Thus, in order to reduce unnecessary power or resourceconsumption of the mobile terminal, the start or termination of theactivation of the voice recognition function should be controlled. Inthe present invention, an arbitrary button of the user input unit 130may be used to control the activation (411).

The arbitrary button may be a hardware button, or a software button oran icon (411) displayed on the display unit 151. The software buttonincludes a menu call button in a standby state. Namely, when the menucall button is inputted in the standby state, the controller 180 mayactivate the voice recognition function while outputting a menu list. Inaddition, if an arbitrary region of the display unit 151 where nothingis displayed (i.e., a region where a button or a menu icon is notdisplayed) is touched, the activation of the voice recognition functionmay be controlled by the controller (420).

If a sound of a particular level or higher is inputted, the controller180 may control activation of the voice recognition function (430). Forexample, the voice recognition function may be driven in two types ofmodes. Namely, the voice recognition function may be driven in a firstmode in which a sound of the particular level or higher is simplydetected, and a second mode in which a voice instruction is recognizedand its meaning is determined. When a sound of a particular level orhigher is inputted in the first mode, the second mode may be activatedto recognize the voice instruction. The activation of the voicerecognition function may be controlled when a short-distance or remoteradio signal or body movement information including the user's motion ofhand or gesture is inputted (440).

As the voice recognition function is activated, the controller 180 mayspecify the information domain of a particular database that can bereferred to for a voice recognition to information related to a menulist displayed on the display unit 151. If a particular menu is selectedfrom the menu list or executed, the information domain of the databasemay be specified to information related to the selected menu or itssub-menus.

When the particular menu is selected or executed according to a voiceinstruction or a touch input, the controller 180 may output helpinformation related to the sub-menus by voice or in the form of balloonhelp. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, when a ‘multimedia menu’ isselected, information related to its sub-menus (e.g., broadcast, camera,text viewer, game, etc.) may be outputted as help information (441,442). Or, as shown in FIG. 6C, when a user's finger approaches aparticular menu 443 to select a particular menu, a sub-menu list 444 maybe outputted. The transparency or brightness of the help information maybe adjusted according to an access distance when displayed on thedisplay unit 151.

After the activated state is maintained for a certain time, thecontroller may automatically terminate the activated state. In addition,the controller 180 may maintain the activated state only while aparticular button or a touch is being inputted, and when the input isreleased, the controller 180 may terminate the activated state. Also, ifa voice is not inputted for a certain time or longer after the activatedstate starts, the controller may automatically terminate the activatedstate.

FIG. 7A is a flow chart illustrating the process of a method forrecognizing a voice instruction of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. As the voice recognition functionis activated, the controller 180 may specify an information domain thatcan be referred to for a voice recognition to information related tomenus displayed on the display unit 151, its sub-menus, or a currentlyexecuted function or menu (S201). A voice instruction received after thevoice recognition function is activated may be stored in a particulardatabase of the memory 160 (S202, S203).

When the voice instruction is received in the state that the informationdomain is specified, the controller 180 analyzes content and context ofthe voice instruction within the specified information domain of thedatabase by using the voice recognition algorithm. In order to analyzethe voice instruction, the voice instruction may be converted intotext-type information, and the text-type information may be stored in aparticular database of the memory 160 (S204). However, the voiceinstruction may not be necessarily converted into the text-typeinformation.

In order to analyze the content and context, the controller 180 maydetect a particular word or a key word included in the voice instruction(S205). The controller 180 may analyze content or context of the voiceinstruction and determine its meaning with reference to the informationstored in the particular database based on the detected word or key word(S206).

The information domain of the referred database may be specified to aninformation domain related to a currently executed function or menu, anda function or a menu corresponding to the meaning of the voiceinstruction determined with reference to the database may be executed(S207). For example, on the assumption that the text message creationfunction is executed and then text is inputted by using the STTfunction, priority of the information domain for recognizing the voiceinstruction may be set to be instructions related to correction of thetext or instructions related to searching the other party for a messagetransmission or related to transmission of a message. Because theinformation domain for a voice recognition is specified to theinformation related to the particular menus, the speed and recognitionrate of the voice recognition can be improved and consumption ofresources can be reduced.

The recognition rate may refer to a degree consistent to the name set ina particular menu. The recognition rate of the voice instruction may bedetermined by the number of pieces of information related to aparticular function or menu among the information included in the voiceinstruction. Thus, the recognition rate of the voice instruction may behigh if information precisely consistent to a particular function ormenu is included in the voice instruction. For example, as shown in FIG.7B, if the voice instruction in a natural language including six words(e.g., I want to send text message) is inputted, its recognition ratemay be determined by the number of the meaningful words (e.g., ‘send’,‘text’, ‘message’) related to a particular menu (e.g., text message).Whether or not the words included in the voice instruction are relatedto a particular function or menu may differ according to the informationstored in the database. For example, in the voice instruction in thenatural language (e.g., I want to send text message), meaningless wordsunrelated to the menu may be grammatically the subject (I) or thepreposition (to).

Here, the natural language is a language generally used by people indaily life, which is discriminated from an artificial language which isartificially created, and can be processed by using a natural languageprocessing algorithm. The natural language may or may not include anaccurate name related to the particular menu, so it may be difficult toprecisely recognize a voice instruction at a rate of 100%, virtually.Accordingly, if the recognition rate is higher than a particular value(e.g., 80%), it can be considered to be accurate. If there are aplurality of meanings having such recognition rate (namely, if a voiceinstruction that can be interpreted by several meanings, each withsimilar recognition rate, is inputted), corresponding menus aredisplayed and at least one function or menu may be executed according toa user selection.

In displaying the menus, the menus may be displayed in the orderstarting from a menu with the highest recognition rate. For example, asshown in FIG. 8, a menu icon having the highest recognition rate may bedisplayed to be closer to the center of the screen (510). Or, the menuicon having the highest recognition rate may be displayed to be largeror darker (520). Or, at least one of a size, a position, a color and acontrast of the plurality of menus may be differently displayedaccording to the order starting from the menu having the highest rate,or highlighted, or their transparency may be adjusted.

The recognition rate of a menu having a higher selection by the useramong the plurality of displayed menus may be changed to be higher.Namely, as for the recognition rate, if a menu is frequently selected bythe user, the number of its selections may be learned, and a recognitionrate with respect to the selected menu may be changed. Thus, arecognition rate of a voice instruction inputted with the same orsimilar pronunciation or content afterwards may be changed.

FIG. 9 is an overview of display screens illustrating a voiceinstruction recognition method of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. On the assumption that the mobileterminal is in a standby state and a particular menu (e.g., message) isselected by the user in the standby state, the controller 180 displayssub-menus of the selected menu. And then, the controller 180 startsactivating of the voice recognition function internally. As the voicerecognition function starts to be activated, the controller 180 may setan information domain of the database for recognizing the voiceinstruction by specifying it to information related to the displayedsub-menus (610) according to a pre-set environment setting option.

With the sub-menus displayed, the controller 180 may receive a voiceinstruction, a touch or a button from the user and select a particularmenu 621. When the particular menu 621 is selected, the controller 180may display the sub-menus (620). With the sub-menu displayed (620), whenthe voice instruction in natural language (e.g., I want to send textmessage) is inputted, the controller 180 detects meaningful words orkeywords (e.g., send, text, message) related to the particular functionor menu, compares them with information related to the sub-menus in theparticular database, and determines a meaning with the highestrecognition rate. Then, the controller 180 executes a menu related tothe determined meaning (e.g., send text).

In addition, if a particular menu is selected or executed according to avoice instruction or a touch input, the controller 180 may output helpinformation related to sub-menus by voice or as a balloon help in theform of text, according to an operation state or an operation mode(e.g., a mode for guiding the voice recognition function) of theterminal.

The operation mode for outputting the help may be set according to anoption related to the environment setting menu. Accordingly, in thepresent invention, menus related to a particular function or service canbe controlled by inputting a button or a touch or by a voice instructionregardless of how the user is familiar or skilled with respect to thevoice instruction.

Meanwhile, when the voice instruction is recognized with a plurality ofmeanings, namely, if the voice instruction in natural language does notinclude an accurate name of a menu, e.g., if a menu desired to beselected by a user from among ‘send photo’, ‘send shotmail’ and ‘outbox’is not accurately determined, the controller 180 may display a pluralityof menus having a recognition rate of a particular value (e.g., 80%) orhigher. However, if menus of the particular value or higher is smallerthan two, a corresponding function or menu may be automaticallyexecuted.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a database system used in avoice recognition method of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. The database stores information fordetermining the meaning of the voice instruction, and a plurality ofdatabases may be configured according to the characteristics of theinformation. Information of each database configured according to thecharacteristics of information may be updated through a continuouslearning process under the control of the controller 180.

The learning process for the databases refers to matching a voicepronounced by the user to a corresponding word. For example, if the userhas pronounced ‘waiting’ but it is recognized as ‘eighteen’, the usermay correct ‘eighteen’ into ‘waiting’, so that the controller 180recognizes the same pronunciation made afterwards as ‘waiting’. Throughsuch a learning process, a plurality of voice information may be matchedto information in the databases.

For example, the databases may include a first database 161 for storingvoice information allowing the user's voice input through the microphoneto be recognized by format, syllable, or morpheme, a second database 162for storing information (e.g., grammar, accuracy of pronunciation,sentence structure) allowing the controller 180 to determine the overallmeaning of a voice instruction based on the recognized voiceinformation, a third database 163 for storing information related to amenu for performing a function or a service of the mobile terminal, anda fourth database 164 for storing a message or voice information to beoutput from the mobile terminal for user's acknowledgement with respectto a meaning of the determined voice instruction. The third database 163may specify information related to menus of a particular categoryaccording to an information domain set for recognizing theabove-described voice instruction. Each database may store voice(pronunciation) information or format, syllable, morpheme, a word, akeyword, or sentence information corresponding to the voice(pronunciation) information.

Accordingly, the controller 180 can determine the meaning of the voiceinstruction by using at least one of the plurality of databases 161 to164, and execute a menu related to a function or service correspondingto the determined meaning of the voice instruction. In addition, in thepresent invention, an operation state or an operation mode in which thevoice instruction recognition function or the SST function is appliedcan be displayed by using an indicator or an icon or a particular shape.When the indicator or the icon is outputted, a particular sound or voicemay be outputted for user's information.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating the process of a text correctingmethod of the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. It is assumed that the user executes the text messagecreation function and creates message content by voice by using the STTfunction. As shown in FIG. 11, when the user inputs a voice (S301), thecontroller 180 converts the voice into text and displays it on thescreen (S302). In order to convert the voice into the text, thecontroller may use an arbitrary (or predetermined) voice recognitionalgorithm.

When the conversion of the voice received from the user into the text iscompleted, the controller 180 discriminately (or individually) tags thetext in units of word (e.g., by word) (S303). The tagging information isdisplayed only on the screen. When the tagging information is stored, itis not stored together with the text. The tagging information may beautomatically displayed when the voice is converted into the text by theSTT function, or may be displayed whenever a pre-set particularinstruction is inputted by the user. The tagging information may bedisplayed as number, and tagging may be made by a sentence or a screenbasis. For example, if there are a plurality of text-convertedsentences, only a selected sentence is tagged or only sentencesdisplayed on a current screen are tagged.

If there is an erroneously converted word in the text, the user mayselect one of the tagging information to correct the erroneouslyconverted word (S304). In order to select one of the tagginginformation, the user may use a pre-set key, a touch, an access, afinger gesture, a pressure applied to a particular portion, a posture(tilt direction), or a voice instruction.

After the tagging information is displayed, the controller 180 selects aword corresponding to the tagging information inputted by using variousmethods by the user. For example, if the user inputs ‘3’ as tagginginformation through one of the various methods, a word corresponding tothe tagging information ‘3’ is selected. The selected word isemphatically displayed over the other words. Then, words (referred to as‘candidate words’, hereinafter) having a similar pronunciation to thatof the selected word (S306) are displayed. For example, if the selectedword is ‘eighteen’, then, ‘eighteenth’, ‘waiting’, ‘meeting’, or thelike, may be displayed as candidate words having the similarpronunciation. In this case, the candidate words may not have beenpreviously set in a database, and words having a particular recognitionrate or higher that are recognized in the voice recognition step may besequentially displayed, starting from one having the highest recognitionrate.

If one of the candidate words is selected by the user (S306) (e.g.,waiting), the controller 180 may change the word (e.g., eighteen)selected from the text to the selected candidate word (e.g., waiting)(S307). In order to select one of the candidate words, the user may usea pre-set key, a touch, an access, a finger gesture, a pressure appliedto a particular portion, a posture (tilt direction), or a voiceinstruction.

The process of changing a particular word in the text to a candidateword may be repeatedly performed, and when correction of the erroneousword is completed, the tagging information is not displayed. When thetext is stored, the controller 180 may determine that the correction iscompleted, and the text correction may be completed by using theabove-described various input methods.

FIGS. 12A to 12C are overviews of display screens illustrating a methodfor tagging voice-recognized text in the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. For example, when the user executesthe text message or e-mail creation function in the mobile terminal andinputs the message content by voice, the controller 180 converts a voiceinputted by the user into text by using the STT algorithm stored in thememory 160, and displays the converted text on a text message or e-mailcreation screen, for example.

As shown in FIG. 12A, the controller 180 displays tagging information ofthe converted text by each word (710). The tagging information may bedisplayed at a lower or upper end of each word or may be displayed tooverlap with each word. When the tagging information is displayed tooverlap with each word, the transparency of the word or tagginginformation may be adjusted. In addition, the shape or color of thetagging information may be displayed to be different from the text. Thetagging information may be automatically displayed when the voice inputof the user is completed or when a pre-set particular instruction isinputted by the user.

As shown in FIG. 12B, the words of the text displayed in a single screenmay be sequentially numbered. Thus, when the words of the text displayedin the single screen are scrolled, the tagging information may bechanged to number of the newly numbered words. Alternatively,subsequently sequential numbers may be used for the words of the textdisplayed in the next screen.

As shown in FIG. 12C, when there are a plurality of sentences in asingle screen, the controller 180 may display tagging information bysentence. For example, tagging information may be displayed only for asentence selected by the user. In order to select a sentence for whichtagging information is to be displayed, the user may use a pre-set key,a touch, an access, a finger gesture, a pressure applied to a particularportion, a posture (tilt direction), or a voice instruction.

FIG. 13 is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting an arbitrary word to correct text displayed on the screen ofthe mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.As described above, the text has the tagging information by words. Thus,the user may select a word by inputting one of the tagging informationaccording to a pre-set method.

For example, as shown in FIG. 13( a), the controller 180 selects a wordcorresponding to tagging information inputted by the user by using apre-set key, a touch, an access, a finger gesture, a pressure applied toa particular portion, or a posture (tilt direction). The controller thenemphatically displays the selected word over the other words (720). Forexample, if the user inputs tagging information ‘3’ by using theabove-described various methods, a word corresponding to the tagginginformation ‘3’ is selected. Then, the color or brightness of theselected word may be changed, or the selected word may be displayed tobe thicker or larger, displayed in a blinking manner, or may beunderlined.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 13( b), the controller mayimmediately receive the word corresponding to the tagging informationfrom the user by voice command. Likewise, the controller 180 mayemphatically display the received word over the other words. When anarbitrary word of the text is selected, the controller 180 displayswords having a similar pronunciation (referred to as ‘candidate words’,hereinafter) to that of the selected word.

FIG. 14 is an overview of display screens illustrating a method fordisplaying candidate words for a particular word selected by a user intext displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. Candidate words with respect to theselected particular word may be displayed as a pop-up window at oneregion of the screen, and the display position of the pop-up window maybe changed according to the position of the selected particular word.For example, if the selected word is ‘eighteen’, the candidate words(eighteen, waiting, meeting) having a similar pronunciation to that ofthe selected word may be displayed on the pop-up window (730). In thiscase, the candidate words displayed on the pop-up window may bedisplayed starting from one having the highest voice recognition rate(e.g., having a value indicative of being closest to the selected word).

When the candidate words are displayed, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B,the user may select one of them and change the selected word. Namely, asshown in FIG. 15A, when the user selects one (e.g., waiting) of thecandidate words by using a pre-set key, a touch, an access, a fingergesture, a pressure applied to a particular portion, a posture (tiltdirection), or a voice (740), the controller changes the word (e.g.,eighteen) selected from the text to the selected candidate word (e.g.,waiting). When the candidate word is selected, the controller 180 maydelete the pop-up window 730, and when changing of the word (eighteen)selected from the text to the candidate word (waiting) is completed, thecontroller 180 may emphatically display (or emphasize) the changed word(waiting) over the other words in the text (750).

As shown in FIG. 15B(a), when the user selects the word (e.g., eighteen)to be corrected from the text by using an arbitrary key or touch, andinputs by voice the word (e.g., waiting) to correct the selected word asshown in FIG. 15B(b), the controller 180 immediately changes the word(eighteen) selected from the text to the voice-inputted word (waiting)as shown in FIG. 15B(c). When correction of the selected word in thetext is completed, tagging information need not be displayed. If thereis any additional word to be corrected in the text, tagging informationmay be manually displayed by using one of the above-described variousinput methods. The process of selecting one of the candidate words andchanging the word to be corrected in the text to the selected candidateword may be repeatedly performed.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating the process of a method forcorrecting text by using voice instruction in the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above,when the user inputs a voice (S401), the controller 180 converts thevoice into text (S402) and displays the text by tagging it by word(S403). If there is an erroneously converted word in the converted text,the user can select the erroneously converted word to correct it.

The controller 180 may receive a voice instruction from the user tocorrect the erroneously converted word (S404). In addition, a word to becorrected in the text may be selected by voice. In addition, tagginginformation displayed at the word to be corrected in the text may bereceived. For example, a pre-set instruction (e.g., the word “modify”)may be received as the voice instruction. The voice instruction may havea meaning of an instruction for instructing a correction and a meaningof an instruction for selecting a word to be corrected. Following thevoice instruction, a word (e.g., eighteen) desired to be selected by theuser may be successively received from the user (S405).

When the word to be corrected is selected by the voice instruction, thecontroller emphatically displays the selected word over the other words(S407). The method for emphatically displaying the selected word may beone of the plurality of emphatically displaying methods as describedabove. When the word to be corrected in the text is selected by voice,the controller 180 displays candidate words having a similarpronunciation to that of the selected word (S408).

When the user selects one (e.g., waiting) of the candidate words (S409),the controller 180 changes the word (e.g., eighteen) selected from thetext to the one (waiting) selected from the candidate words (S410). Ifthe user successively inputs the voice instruction (modify), the word(eighteen) to be selected from the text, and the word (waiting) forcorrecting the selected word by voice (S406), the controller 180immediately changes the selected word (eighteen) to the word (waiting)for correction (S410).

FIG. 17 is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting an arbitrary word by using a voice instruction from textdisplayed on the screen of the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 17( a), whenconversion of the voice inputted by the user into text is completed andthe user inputs a voice instruction for correcting the converted text,the controller 180 displays tagging information of the converted text byword as shown in FIG. 17( b).

Then, the controller selects a word corresponding to tagging informationor word information successively inputted by the user from the text andemphatically displays the selected word to be corrected over the otherwords. For example, when an instruction for correcting the text and aword to be corrected in the text are received by voice from the user,the controller 180 may change the color or brightness of the selectedword, display the selected word to be thicker or larger than otherwords, or blink or underline the selected word to emphasize the selectedword. Other ways of emphasizing the selected words are possible. When anarbitrary word in the text is selected, as shown in FIG. 17( c), thecontroller 180 displays candidate words having a similar pronunciationto that of the selected word.

FIG. 18A is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting by voice one of candidate words displayed on the screen of themobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 18B is an overview of display screens illustrating a method forselecting by voice an arbitrary word from text displayed on the mobileterminal and correcting it according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 18A(a), when conversion of the voiceinputted by the user into text is completed and the user inputs a voiceinstruction for correcting the converted text and a word to becorrected, the controller 180 displays candidate words having a similarpronunciation to that of the word to be corrected as shown in FIG.18A(b). The candidate words may be displayed as a pop-up window on oneregion of the screen, and the display position of the pop-up window maybe changed according to the position of the selected particular word.

With the candidate words displayed, when the user selects one (e.g.,‘waiting’) of the candidates by voice, the controller 180 changes theselected word (e.g., ‘eighteen’) to the selected candidate word(waiting) as shown in FIG. 18A(c). When the user inputs the voiceinstruction (modify) as shown in FIG. 18B(a) and then continuously inputby voice the word (eighteen) to be selected from the text and then theword (waiting) for correcting the selected word as shown in FIG. 18B(b),the controller 180 immediately changes the selected word (eighteen) tothe word (waiting) for correction as shown in FIG. 18B(c). When the word(eighteen) selected from the text is completely changed to the candidateword (waiting), the controller 180 may emphatically display the changedword (waiting) over the other words in the text. In various embodiments,the selected word, such as eighteen, is already correctly spelled, whenit is changed with the selected candidate word.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-described methodcan be implemented as software codes that can be read by a computer in aprogram-recorded medium. The computer-readable medium may includevarious types of recording devices in which data that can be read by acomputer system is stored. The computer-readable medium may include aROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical datastorage device, and the like. In addition, the computer may include thecontroller 180 of the terminal.

As the exemplary embodiments may be implemented in several forms withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understoodthat the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of thedetails of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, butrather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in theappended claims. Therefore, various changes and modifications that fallwithin the scope of the claims, or equivalents of such scope aretherefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

1. A mobile terminal, comprising: a display unit; an input unit; amemory; and a controller configured to: convert a voice message intotext upon detection thereof; display on the display unit the text andtags associated with the text, wherein each word of the text is taggedwith a different one of the tags, wherein the tags are numbered in anincreasing order from a beginning of the text toward an end of the text,and wherein the tags are renumbered when the text is scrolled; displayon the display unit a word and at least one candidate word having asimilar pronunciation to that of the word when the word is selected forcorrection from the text in response to an access to a tag associatedwith the word; and replace the word on the text displayed on the displayunit with a candidate word when the candidate word is selected from theat least one candidate word.
 2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, whereinthe tags are displayed immediately above or below the text.
 3. Themobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the tags are displayed overlappedwith the text, and transparency of the tags is adjusted such that thetext can be seen through the tags.
 4. The mobile terminal of claim 1,wherein the input unit is configured to receive a key input, a touchinput, a finger gesture input, a pressure input applied to a particularportion of the display unit, a posture input, or a voice input.
 5. Themobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the text comprises a sentence. 6.The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the access to the tag associatedwith the word is performed upon detection of a touch input to the tagassociated with the word.
 7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein theaccess to the tag associated with the word is performed upon detectionof a voice input selecting the tag associated with the word.
 8. A methodof a mobile terminal, the method comprising: converting a voice messageinto text when the voice message is detected and processed by acontroller of the mobile terminal; displaying the text and tagsassociated with the text on a display unit of the mobile terminal,wherein each word of the text is tagged with a different one of thetags, wherein the tags are numbered in an increasing order from abeginning of the text toward an end of the text, and wherein the tagsare renumbered when the text is scrolled; displaying a word and at leastone candidate word having a similar pronunciation to that of the word onthe display unit when the word is selected for correction from the textin response to an access to a tag associated with the word; andreplacing the word on the text displayed on the display unit with acandidate word when the candidate word is selected from the at least onecandidate word.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the tags are displayedimmediately above or below the text.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereinthe tags are displayed overlapped with the text, and transparency of thetags is adjusted such that the text can be seen through the tags. 11.The method of claim 8, wherein the input unit is configured to receive akey input, a touch input, a finger gesture input, a pressure inputapplied to a particular portion of the display unit, a posture input, ora voice input.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the text comprises asentence.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the displaying the wordcomprises emphatically displaying the word when the word is selected forcorrection.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the emphaticallydisplaying the word comprising distinguishing the word from remainingwords of the text through modifying at least one of color, brightness,size, thickness, or presentation of the word.
 15. The method of claim 8,wherein the replacing the word comprises emphatically displaying thecandidate word when the candidate word is selected from the at least onecandidate word.
 16. The method of claim 8, wherein the access to the tagassociated with the word is performed upon detection of a touch input tothe tag associated with the word.
 17. The method of claim 8, wherein theaccess to the tag associated with the word is performed upon detectionof a voice input selecting the tag associated with the word.
 18. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the converting the voice message into thetext is performed using a speech to text (STT) function.
 19. The methodof claim 8, wherein the displaying the at least one candidate wordhaving the similar pronunciation comprises displaying the at least onecandidate word in an order of similarity to the word selected forcorrection.